Formula 21

 

Issue: September 2001
Manufacturer: Formula Boats

This story began in 1965. It was during that year that Florida-based boat designer, Don Aronow, designed a 19' hull for offshore racing. But while the design proved extremely successful, Don continued to modified it until 1969, when he increasing its length to 23'. So began the original Formula Marine.

Aronow went on to design Donzi Marine offshore racers, which later became the highly successful and famous Cigarette Offshore Race Team. Aronow's reputation as a top designer of offshore powerboats spread quickly. In fact, he was so highly regarded in his field that he was approached by US Customs to build boats that could intercept smugglers supplying the lucrative drug trade, which was operating in and around Florida.

Aronow's boats had a huge impact on the drug trade. But legend has it that he was approached by underworld figures to design a boat that would outrun the Customs officials' boats. He declined the commission and was mysteriously shot dead outside his Florida factory in February 1987. Nobody was ever brought to justice for his murder.

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What does all this have to do with the boat in this test? Well, this hull is virtually identical to Aronow's 19' offshore racer from 1965. It has the same dimensions - with the exclusion of the pod - and the same variable deadrise, which made it both fast and seaworthy.

The story of the boat you see on these pages started in Darwin when Formula Boats Australia's Adrian Clancy found a beaten up old Haines 23 in a paddock. Clancy was a keen fisherman so he bought the boat and tidied it up. He used it to fish from for a while, but soon decided it didn't quite fit the bill for what he wanted. He was looking for a stable and seaworthy vessel he could use for both competition fishing and as a safe family cruiser to take his wife and kids out on.

Clancy discovered that the moulds for the Formula 19 were up for sale. He liked the look of the hull and after some research bought them, then went to work building his own boat. "I wanted to build a boat that could safely cross bars and do some offshore work if needed," he said.

The boat proved so successful that he started Formula Boats Australia and is now selling them for both pleasure and commercial applications. Modern Boating tested the prototype of this vessel more than 12 months ago. But the hull moulds have now been tweaked to carry both twin and single outboard installations and the interior has also been redesigning to create this latest model. The commercial versions can be put into 3C survey, but all the boats are constructed in the same way, so customers can be sure of the boat's strength.

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